


Like His Soul

by KnightoftheCrow



Series: Stellar Money [1]
Category: Bleach
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Coffee Shops, Established Relationship, Eventual Smut, Eventual mild smut, Gay Romance, GrimmIchi - Freeform, IchiIshi - Freeform, M/M, Multi, Open Relationships, Polyamourous Character(s), RenIchi, Slow Burn, barista!ichigo, barista!renji, established abarai renji/kurosaki ichigo, genetically accurate renji, implied open relationship, implied polyamory, kinda slow burn, manager!komamura, rengrimm teaser, renichiishi, service dog!Goroo
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-16
Updated: 2019-04-10
Packaged: 2019-08-24 09:44:18
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 3,274
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16637546
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KnightoftheCrow/pseuds/KnightoftheCrow
Summary: Grimmjow goes to Stellar Money nearly every day and gets just a cup of regular black coffee, nothing extra inside it, making Ichigo question why he's overpaying for something he could easily make at home instead of just getting one of their signature drinks.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first coffee shop au and there are definite references and such of an actual name brand coffee chain. Spoiler: this is actually going to be a part of a series, so when I'm done with this fic, be on the look out for more Stellar Money.

Ichigo put the cap over a towering dome of whip cream, placing the frosty drink on the pick up counter and calling out the name of its owner. The drink left the counter, a small wet spot in its place. Ichigo picked up a rag to wipe down the counter, only pausing to look up from his work when a chime at the door introduced a new customer.

"Welcome to Stellar Money!" he sang out in a cheery voice he adopted mainly for this purpose.

The new customer didn't seem to acknowledge the greeting, his cerulean eyes roaming over the interior of the small coffee shop before picking out a table in a dark corner, tossing his bag in the chair. When he came to the counter, he stared at the menu for nearly ten minutes straight, silently keeping his eyes fixed upon the various coffees, teas, and coffee-like drinks. Or, rather, almost silently. There were a few grumblings followed by the proclamation of "who the hell drinks this siht?!" before he finally seemed ready to order. Luckily, thanks to the few customers in the place already getting their orders, he didn't hold up any lines with how long he took.

"I'll take an extra large black coffee," he said.

"Would you like any sugar with that?" Ichigo asked.

The man scoffed, the way he tilted his head with the sound showing off a prominent scar that extended from his jawline nearly to his temple on the right side of his face.

Ichigo tried to hide the slight offense he took, opening up the computer screen. "Okay then." He stared at the screen for a moment, his fingertips just above the order buttons. "I'm sorry, what roast did you say you wanted?"

The man seemed irritably taken aback by the question. "'Roast'? Can't you just give me a normal black coffee?"

Ichigo sighed. "We have a few different _types_ of coffee."

The man looked back up at the menu, running his hand through his hair. His face almost scrunched up a little bit; "What's actually _good?"_

"Well, most people get one of our specialty drinks, but a lot of customers really enjoy out Strike Street or Italian Roast."

The man nodded a bit. "Just give me one of those then."

Ichigo looked up at the man. "Which one?"

"Does it look like I care?" The man made a face of slight indignation.

"Well, okay then." Ichigo typed the order into the computer. "What was your name?"

The man smirked at him almost devilishly. "You want my number, too?"

Ichigo looked at him unamused. "It's for our label so we don't mix your drink order with someone else's."

That smirk didn't really disappear. "It's Grimmjow."

"Okay..." Ichigo typed it into the computer and printed out the sticker for the cup.


	2. Chapter 2

Ichigo stacked cups on the counters, seemingly engrossed in his work.

"He was pretty cute."

Ichigo looked to the voice behind him, giving the redhead who'd spoken an almost confused look. "Who?"

Renji made a face that seemed to say Ichigo should already know who he was talking about. "That blue-haired guy; Gran-something-or-other."

Ichigo rolled his eyes and went back to his closing duties. "Grimmjow."

"Yeah;" Renji nodded. "You totally should have gotten his number."

Ichigo made a face of annoyance. "He was kind of rude."

"Well, then, you should have gotten it for me." A smile cracked wide on his face.

Ichigo looked at the other man, seemingly taken by surprise. "Renji, we're _dating."_

The redhead shrugged; "I didn't really have a problem with you being with that Ishida kid."

Ichigo looked away, definitely annoyed. "That's only because he sucked your dick." He sighed. "Besides, I don't really wanna talk about Uryuu right now."

Renji nodded. "I understand. It's been a while since..." His voice trailed off a bit, a touch of sadness to his words.

"Let's just get done so we can get outta here. I wanna go home."

A freckled hand placed itself on Ichigo's shoulder, pausing his furious wiping of the counters. "It's okay."

He shrugged the other's hand off. He just wanted to curl up on the couch with Netflix.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As a reminder, as I only stated this in the series notes for this AU and not the notes on this fic, this fic and all the fics in this series are all tied in together and happening in the same place, sometimes at the same time. I'm writing this fic with the fics that I'll write after in mind.


	3. Chapter 3

Ichigo turned on all the coffee machines, preparing them to start brewing for the day.

"All machines should be up and running, so you can clock in now."

"Okay, thank you, Manager Sajin," Ichigo said to the older man.

Sajin nodded before going off to continue his opening duties as manager, leaving Ichigo to clock in and continue his work.

Ichigo yawned as he put together the blenders, setting up different drink ingredients on the counters. He dreaded when the doors would open to usher in customers. Seeing Sajin getting ready to open the doors, Ichigo put his apron on, making sure to tie it tightly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "All the machines should be on so you can clock in" is referring to the computers. Contrary to popular belief, you can't just automatically clock in. Managers have to unlock computers in a lot of places for you to clock in.


	4. Chapter 4

The door chimed, ushering in a new customer. Ichigo looked around behind the bar, sighing when he saw his coworker busy with the drive thru. Guess his lunch break would have to wait.

"Welcome to Stellar Money!"

Cerulean eyes met his before the customer went to a dark corner, setting his bag in the chair. He approached the counter, glancing at the menu.

"I'd like an extra large black coffee," he said.

Ichigo opened up the computer. "Would you like a specific roast this time?"

"Just give me whatever it was you gave me last time."

Ichigo typed into the computer. "Any extra espresso shots?"

The man seemed to consider this for a moment. "Nah."

"Okay;" Ichigo finished typing up the order before looking up. "It was Grimmjow, right?"

The man smiled. Ichigo wondered how his teeth seemed so white given all the coffee he drank the other day. "You remembered my name."

Ichigo shrugged, placing the order sticker on the cup.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've got a bit of backlog for this fic, which is really good tbh. Unfortunately, I've already burned through all my backlog for other fics, so... Unconventionally Family is gonna take a while to update. Anyway, enjoy this update. More updates to come later this week/next week. Maybe I should update every time I write a new scene? I don't know. I also want these to be spaced out enough. nehhhhhh...


	5. Chapter 5

Ichigo typed his number into the computer, clocking out then saying goodbye to his coworkers. He pulled out his phone as he opened the door, bumping into an incoming customer. He barely had a chance to attempt an apology before an irritated voice spoke out;  
"Hey! Watch it!"

He looked up at the voice in front of him, almost startled to see cerulean eyes staring back at him in surprise. Grimmjow. A wicked grin crept its way across the other man's face until it seemed to nearly split it in two.

"Oh, it's you," he said. "What was your name again? Ichigo, right?"

"It's on my name tag," Ichigo replied.

Grimmjow leaned in closer. "Where are you going in such a rush?"

Ichigo scowled a bit. He wasn't rushing. Sure, he wasn't paying attention earlier, but he wasn't in any hurry. He didn't need to be crowded like this.

Grimmjow titled his head slightly as if to say _well?_

"I'm going home," Ichigo told him, pushing past the other man to continue on his way.

Grimmjow turned back to him, that smile almost gone from his face. Almost. "Hey, you need a ride?"

"No," Ichigo called back.

"You sure? I've got a car."

"Me, too." Ichigo opened the door to his sedan, tossing his things inside before plopping down on the seat with a sigh.

Grimmjow shrugged, turning to the door. "Oh well."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another update! Whoo! I've got lots of fics to write tbh lol


	6. Chapter 6

"I'll take an extra large black coffee," Grimmjow told the redhead at the computer, looking up at the menu still.

"Would you like any sugar, flavours, or espresso shots?"

Grimmjow shook his head with a grimace

"You sure?"

He seemed to consider this for a moment before giving in. "Why the hell not. One shot of espresso."

Grimmjow watched as his order was typed into the computer. He caught a glimpse of blackwork when the barista's sleeve shifted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can you guess who the barista is? XD


	7. Chapter 7

Ichigo stared at the phone.

It was ringing.

He stared, unsure of what to do.

The caller ID showed a picture of Ichigo, Renji, and a brunette in glasses, all smiling for the selfie.

Ichigo's thumb hovered over the answer icon, hestitation increasing his mild anxiety.

The phone went silent.

Ichigo set it down, his heart racing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for not updating for a bit, there's lots of stuff going on, like the Tumbpocalypse, getting/using a FFNet account, etc.


	8. Chapter 8

He dialed in the number again. It rang a few times, no answer. He sighed. Adjusting his glasses, he picked his bag up and went on his way to class. Maybe he could try again later...


	9. Chapter 9

"I'm home!" Renji called out, throwing his keys onto the hallway table.

"Welcome home," Ichigo said, staring at the TV.

Renji wrestled the blanket from around Ichigo's shoulders before plopping down on the couch beside him. Ichigo grabbed the blanket back, spreading it across the two of them and unpausing the TV. Renji's fingers entwined with the other's impossibly warm fingers.

"Good Morning Call, huh?"

Ichigo shrugged.

"Isn't that, y'know, for girls?"

"It's a good show," Ichigo grumbled.

"It was based off a shoujo romance, wasn't it?"

He shrugged again, aware of the fact that Renji was staring at the television screen despite all his griping. He felt the other's thumb rubbing gently against his own under the blanket. He wondered if he should say anything...

"How was your day?"

Ichigo shrugged, causing Renji to look at him.

"That bad, huh?"

Ichigo wriggled under the blanket until he could comfortably rest his head on the redhead's shoulder. An arm curled around his shoulders, fingers softly stroking his hair. "He won't stop calling."

"Who?" The way Ichigo tensed in his arms told Renji everything he needed to know.

"It's been months now..."

Renji sighed. He wasn't quite sure how to approach this, but he would try. "Maybe you should try talking to him."

Ichigo turned up the volume of the TV.

Renji rolled his eyes then grabbed the remote and shut off the TV.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now you're all caught up with my writing for this fic! This is going to be the last update for this fic for a while and may be the last Bleach fic update for a while. I've got a lot of stuff going on, but if I do more writing for any fic, whatever the fandom, I'll update/post it. I just need to focus on other things for a while, but I'm not leaving this unfinished indefinitely, don't worry.
> 
> PS: Good Morning Call is a Japanese drama on Netflix based off a shoujo manga and it's really good. I watch it in original audio with Japanese subtitles to help with my language learning, but once I finish the series I'll go back with English subtitles lol.


	10. Chapter 10

Ichigo set the hot paper cup on the counter, calling out, "Extra large Strike Street, three shots espresso, for Grimmjow."

The blue haired man picked up his drink before walking back to his quiet, dark corner, his leather jacket causing him to nearly fade into the dim lighting. He looked like he was doing homework or something with his notebooks and pens everywhere. Was he a student? It would explain why he came in at the most random hours, it seemed, and why he drank so much damn coffee.

Ichigo watched the other man write, scribble, and possibly doodle in his notebooks, hi head occasiobally bobbing as if he were talking to himself.

Hours passed, notebooks were stacked, and machines were beginning to be shut down. The man in the corner kept up his writing, seemingly totally unaware of his surroundings until lights started going out.

"Hey," a soft voice called out, "you've gotta go home. We're closed."

Grimmjow set down his pen and rubbed his eyes, slight groan of exhaustion coming from within. He looked around to see an array of paper cups, empty tables, and an orange haired barista by his side. "Uh, sure." He packed up his things, tucking several notebooks into his bag before shrugging a leather jacket onto his broad shoulders.

"You can't stay this late, you know."

Grimmjow gave the barista a look. "Well, I was working, _you know."_

Ichigo shrugged, uncrossing his arms to pinch the bridge of his nose. "You've gotta go home so I can go home."

The blue haired man smiled. "You sayin' you wanna go home with me?"

The barista just glared at him.

"Okay, okay, I'm leaving, fine."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I took a bit of a break a while ago, but I'm back now, in case you couldn't tell by all my uploads since, like, February. Early March?
> 
> Anyway, I haven't given up on this series! Spring Break is officially over, so work is slow until May/June, and I got some more writing done, yay!
> 
> (PS: I never realize how little I've actually written until it all gets typed up. I write in notebooks, lol.)


	11. Chapter 11

Renji gave his boyfriend's hand a quick squeeze goodbye after clocking out, watching him quickly tie on his apron before walking out the door. Ichigo had a small smile on his face as he cloked in, part of him wanting his shift to already be over so he could curl up on the couch with the heavily tattooed redhead and watch Ju-On with him.

Many customers came and went, ordering a variety of hot and cold drinks, snacks and sandwhiches. The door chimed, ushering in a tall man in a leather jacket, a stack of papers in his hand. As per usual, he set his bag down on a chair in the corner. This time, though, he went to the bulletin board across the coffee shop, spending a good couple minutes tacking something to it before coming over to the counter.

"I'll take an extra large Strike Street, black, with three shots," he said.

The man behind the counter typed in his order, strands of the long brown hair pinned to the top of his head coming loose in front of his face. "May I have a name for the order?"

"Grimmjow."

The cashier typed it into the computer, sticking a label on the cup before handing it off.

Grimmjow walked over to his table in the corner, allowing for a man with a guide dog to take his place at the counter.

The brunette behind the counter smiled at the new customer. "Kaname, what can I get for you?"

The darker man thought for a moment. "I'll have an extra large berry iced tea."

"Would you like som water for Goroo as well?"

Kaname smiled; "Yes, please."

A sticker was placed on a couple of cups before being handed off. "Alright, I'll call your name when it's ready."

"Thank you, Sajin."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Ju-On: Reference to Ju-On: the Grudge, a Japanese horror film that had a US remake some 10+ years ago
> 
> Another update so soon? Why, yes, because why not? I've up to scene 12 written so far for this lol.
> 
> For those of you wondering, yes, I gave Komamura brown hair in this. Coffee Shop AUs are usually treated as Human AUs with my writing and Komamura's hair is the same as what most of his fur in-canon looks like. My personal designs for my AUs typically have callbacks to in-canon designs/traits in some way.
> 
> Also. does anyone else have the knowledge that Komamura in-canon has a dog named Goroo? Cuz I found that out a few months ago so every guide dog you see with Tousen in my AUs is that dog.


	12. Chapter 12

The phone rang loudly in the kitchen.

"Hey, Renji, can you see who's calling?" Ichigo called out from the living room.

The cell phone was picked up, the answer button pressed, as Renji said, "I don't know why you left this thing in here."

Ichigo looked up to see his boyfriend with the phone to his ear. "I didn't say you could answer it. Who is it?"

"Yeah, here he is." The redhead handed the phone off to a semi-confused Ichigo who took it without looking at the Caller ID.

A voice on the other end spoke; "Hello?"

The hairs all over Ichigo's body stood up on end as he glared at Renji. "Why didn't you tell me who it was?!"

The other man shrugged. "He said you guys needed to talk. You want me here with you?"

Ichigo furiously shook his head, turning his back to him as his partner left the room to give him some privacy. "Uryuu."

"Hello, Ichigo." A sigh. "How have things been?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is all I have written at the moment, so it's gonna be a while before this gets updated again. Oh, man, this fic was originally not gonna be about more than GrimmIchi + Coffee, but then things got away from me and now it's about communication and relationships and poeple and ugh. I'm not even halfway through this lol. My outline for this is so long...


	13. Chapter 13

He could hear the quickened breathing through the phone. He could hear the moment those pants of panic turned to rage, such a subtle change in pattern tholding. That only long terms of intimacy could detect.

"What the _hell?!"_

He winced at the sudden shock to his eardrums. Squeezing his eyes, he removed his glasses, releasing the breath he'd only just realized he'd been holding. "Ichigo..."

"Don't 'Ichigo' me! I haven't heard from you in months, it's been _months_ since you left, and all you have to say is _'how've you been'?!"_

Uryuu sighed. "Ichigo, I..."

"What? You _what?"_

His eyes stung, but he did his best to hold it in. "I never meant to hurt you..." he said quietly.

"Yeah, but you did."

Ichigo was seething, he could tell. He could tell it was more than just rage.

"You left us, left _me."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Currently working on typing up the new scenes I have written. I really feel like I'm on a roll with this one seeing as I've written quite a few scenes in a short amount of time AND I'm starting to get some actual progress with going through the plot points of my outline. Oof, it's been a journey, but we're finally moving again.


	14. Chapter 14

He pushed the door open, just barely acknowledging the somehwat cheerful greeting.

"Welcome to Stellar Money!"

It was all fake anyway, he could tell. This particular time sounded a bit different, but he tried not to think about it as he dropped his bag off into his chair. He cuffed the long sleeves of his plain black shirt, the warmth of the day making him instantly regret his decision to wear it. At least it was somehwat cool inside. He walked up to the counter, knowing what he wanted this time.

"I'll have an extra large Strike Street, black, three shots espresso," he said.

"Okay;" the orange haired barista typed in his order, a small look of concentration on his face as he placed the sticker on the cup. It was cute. "It was Grimmjow, right?"

The barista shrugged.

"Everything okay, Ichigo?"

Ichigo looked him dead in the eye, a smile plastered on his face that didn't seem all too genuine. "Yes, I'm fine."

"You just... seem a little off today."

The barista shook his head. "I'm fine, I swear."

Grimmjow didn't really believe it, but he wasn't going to argue with a guy he barely knew about his own mental state, even if some part of him wanted to.

He grabbed his drink once it was finished and went to go sit down, passing by a pretty brunette looking absolutely frustrated with the taste of his drink. He pulled out some notebooks and got to work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I need to edit the tags on this soon, oof.
> 
> Anyone who can guess who the "pretty brunette" is gets a gold star!<3


	15. Chapter 15

He lit the end of his cigarette and took a long drag, leaning back against the faded hood of his car. It was only a few moments before he heard the door open, making him open his eyes. Not many people were filing out of the coffee shop, for which he was glad. He wanted to enjoy just a few more minutes of cool night air. A flash of orange caught his eye and before he knew it, he was stomping out his cigarette and taking long strides in order to catch up.

"Grimmjow!" The barista seemed almost surprised to see him.

He let a grin take overt his face and it wasn't entirely his fault if it looked somewhat wicked. "Hey, Ichigo."

"What're you doing here?"

He shrugged. "Got done with my work early, so I stepped outside for a smoke. You?"

Ichigo gave him a look. "I work here."

He slid his tonuge over his teeth, their sharpness being brought to attention not necessarily being his fault. "So it seems."

"What do you want?"

This time, the wickedness in his grin was very much his fault. "Oh, a lot of things."

Ichigo rolled his eyes and began walking to his car, not really saying anything when Grimmjow started walking beside him, his hands stuffed into the pockets of his faded jeans.

"So, what's with those two?" A head of blue hair jerked in the direction of a tall, fair man walking alongside a man wearing sunglasses, a dog in a vest between them.

Ichigo looked over to the couple walking the opposite direction. "Them? Oh, that's just the manager."

Grimmjow looked off in the distance, not seeming too interested in the other men. "How come the guy with the dog gets free drinks?"

Ichigo looked at him. "Kaname? He doesn't get free drinks."

The blue haired man met his eyes, a look on his face saying he didn't believe a word he was hearing.

"Really. Manager Sajin pays for all his drinks out of his own pocket."

Grimmjow looked a bit taken aback. "What? Why?"

Ichigo shrugged. "They've been dating for nearly fifteen years. I think they recently got engaged."

"Huh."

"Why?"

He shrugged. "No reason."

"Ah."

"So..."

"So..?" Ichigo couldn't quite parse what the other man was thinking. They were almost to his car, so if he didn't like the rest of that thought, he could always drive away.

"You doing anything Friday?"

"What?"

Grimmjow was looking right at him, his face open in a way that didn't hide any interest, not even the casual way he dragged his eyes across Ichigo's lips.

"Uh;" Ichigo suddenly felt completely unprepared and his brain seemed to refuse to work. "Um, working."

"Ah, that's too bad. I suppose this is your ride?" He nodded towards Ichigo's car.

"Well..." Grimmjow brought a marker out of his pocket and grabbed Ichicgo's hand, writing in the middle of his palm. "That's my number. In case you ever decided to just not show up for work for one reason or another this Friday." And with that, he walked off, a sharp smirk on his mouth as he pulled a cigarette to his lips.

What was with that guy?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is all I have typed, I need to edit the other scenes I have written. I've got, like, 5 scenes to edit, oof.


End file.
